Part 39 (2/2)
”He isn't,” Victoria said. ”I have the Coven's interests to consider, Paige. I will not-”
”You-Do you have any idea what you've done?”
”I've given Savannah to her father.”
”No, you've given her to a-”
”A Cabal. Yes, I realize that. I know all about them, despite what I said the other day. Savannah is the daughter of a sorcerer and a black witch. She deserves to be where she's going. Evil begets evil.”
”No!” I shouted, flinging the phone into the fireplace.
”Hear that crash, Gabe?” Nast said. ”It's the sound of illusions shattering.” He looked at me. ”I thought you should know, so you're fully aware of the situation. You may leave now.”
Without even waiting for me to go, he turned back to Sandford and resumed their conversation. I stormed from the room.
Chapter 44.
Comprehensive Insurance Policy Savannah was asleep when I returned to our bedroom. Olivia left with only a murmured good-bye, perhaps realizing I was too stunned to hear her, much less respond.
How could the Elders have betrayed us? Banis.h.i.+ng me from the Coven I could understand-barely-but this, this was beyond fathoming. They'd sold Savannah for their own peace of mind. How could their own security be worth so great a price?
No matter how much I railed against the Elders, I believed them to be good women. They'd spent their lives fighting the temptation of evil and rooting it out of their Coven. Yes, they went too far, placed too many restrictions on us, robbed us of our potential. Yet I never doubted that their intentions were good.
Here, though, I was faced with something I could not deny-that they had acted in a way that made them no better than the Cabals, perhaps even worse. In chasing so relentlessly after morality, the Elders had become the very thing they'd fought so hard against: evil. I blanched at the word, instinctively feeling the need to justify, to moderate. Yet there it was. What else could you call their betrayal but an act of unforgivable evil?
Perhaps now more than ever I wanted to save the Coven. If I did, though, I'd never forget this lesson.
We had a late breakfast with Nast, who was heading back into Boston for business that day, but promised to return before dinner. After breakfast, we spent an hour in our room-Nast having not yet given us free run of the house. At eleven, Greta and her mother came to give Savannah her surprise.
”What is it?” Savannah asked as we trooped downstairs.
”If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?” Greta said.
”We'll tell you this much,” Olivia said. ”It's for your ceremony. Only five more days.”
”But I thought-” Savannah glanced at me. ”Kristof said Paige could do the ceremony.”
”Oh, yes, Paige will be conducting it. We'll have to use our own material, though. All Paige's things were lost in the fire. A shame, really. I warned-mentioned to Mr. Nast that he might want to rescue the magical items first, but he didn't see the need.”
”You'll get all new tools anyway, Savannah,” Greta said. ”Better, too. Also better materials for your ceremony. Do you know whose grave we got the dirt from? Abby Borden, Lizzie Borden's stepmother. She was killed near here, you know.”
”Really?”
”Really. Now there's there's someone who was definitely murdered.” someone who was definitely murdered.”
”When did you gather it?” I asked. ”It has to be on the first night of her menses.”
”Oh, that's an old wives'-or old witches'-tale,” Olivia said. ”That's one thing you'll learn, Savannah. A lot of what you've heard is nonsense. Gathering items on certain days, performing rituals at specific times-”
”You mean I don't need to wait until the eighth day?”
”No, that one's true. Or so we believe, though no witch I know has ever been willing to test the theory and risk hampering her daughter's powers.”
When we arrived at the back door Roberta Shaw and Anton were waiting to escort us outside. I hadn't seen the necromancer since Monday, at the funeral home. Shaw hadn't been among the staff who'd presented Savannah with gifts, so I'd a.s.sumed she'd been sent packing for her role in that horror show. Seeing her still here made me wonder whether Nast's condemnation of the funeral home debacle had been more show than substance.
”What's she doing here?” Savannah said, shooting a glare at Shaw.
”I asked Mr. Nast if Roberta could accompany us instead of Leah,” Greta explained. She lowered her voice. ”I don't know about you, but I don't trust that Volo.”
”Well, I don't trust that necro, either,” Savannah said.
Olivia hushed her. ”She was only doing her job, Savannah. Now come along.”
We pa.s.sed the barn and entered the forest.
”So are we practicing the ceremony?” Savannah asked.
”No, we're performing a rite. A special protection rite.”
”Cool.”
”Very cool,” Greta said. ”Not many young witches get this. It requires very unique ingredients. When we mentioned it to Mr. Nast, though, he gave us carte blanche. Anything to help his little girl on her special day.”
I resisted the urge to make retching noises. ”What kind of protection does it give?”
”The best. Think of it as a comprehensive insurance policy. It'll prevent everything from demonic interference to having Savannah wake up with the flu next Wednesday.”
”Huh,” I said. ”Sounds good.”
”It's sorcerer magic.”
”Of course.”
They led us into the woods. We pa.s.sed the spot where we'd practiced the afternoon before and kept going. As we walked, Savannah glanced back at Shaw and Anton.
”Who's carrying the material?” she asked.
”What material is that, dear?” Olivia said.
”For the ritual.”
”Everything we need is at the site.”
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